MASTER RING!
by Strenua
Summary: Starts after Shelob's cave. Sam takes on the role as the ringbearer and enters Mordor alone, but as we all know Frodo isn't dead... what happens with the two now? Will continue if given reviews!! PG for slight violence *as always in the lotr*
1. Samwise Gamgee.

Sam looked over his shoulder from the stairs and the further up he came, the smaller his master seemed to get. It was hard for him to leave him here, but if he did not finish what they came for, there would be no time. The last steps seemed so high and his knees were weak, too weak to carry him much longer if he did not rest. At the last step he turned to get a last glimpse of Master Frodo where he was laying on the ground. Sam gripped the ring in his hand and squeezed it hard. "I will not disappoint Mr. Frodo" he promised himself and forced himself to turn around. With Sting in his belt and the heavy Ring hanging from the chain around his neck he continued to walk to find a place where he could rest. A path from the stairs were leading around a large dead hill where no grass, no flowers and no trees were growing. Mordor was a dead land and clouds of smoke rose from the horizon and in the east he could see the Black tower, tall and dark. Sam could feel the eye following him  
as he walked the path all by himself and the sun was setting. The Ring was heavy and it got even heavier as he got closer to the turn of the path. He stopped a few feet from the dry hill where he heard muffled voices. He slowly crept to the edge of the hill and concentrated his ears to hear the conversation. Sam knew they were orchs for none had a more repulsive voice than an orch. Two orchs seemed to have an argument, but Sam could still not make out the words so he took a big risk to move closer to a pair of rocks beside the hill. Quick as a lizard he hid behind them and put his ear to an opening between two of the black cold stones.  
  
"Idiot! How could you let him go? Wait until the lord hears about this!" one of them scolded.  
  
"What harm could a creature like that do? It is just a waste of time to keep him prisoner, we have far more important things to take care of"  
  
"Harm has been done already and if you do not follow order I will have to report you."  
  
A shadow grew in Sam's mind, he feared what they were talking about, but it could not be, could it? Gollum was free and still alive.  
  
When the orch-voices slowly faded away he peeked with one eye through a crack to make sure they were not there. There was no sight of orchs, but his legs were not strong enough to take him further for now. He crept up close to the rocks, wrapped the elven cloak around his body and soon he was in a light and worried slumber.  
  
He did not know what time it was when he woke up again, in fact he did not know the date.  
  
He had lost every aspect of time now and all that mattered was that he completed the task and got rid of the ring. A fear struck him, he jumped up from his hiding place and parted the top of his shirt, but to his relife the ring was still there. He needed to be more careful.  
  
No more rest yet for many hours he decided and picked up his bag to continue the walk.  
  
As Sam was walking over the almost deserted field he started to think about The Shire and Hobbiton. How he missed the grass, the sun and the lake. He missed the old Gaffer, the comfortable and hospitale inn and Rosa Cotton, he even missed Merry and Pippin.  
  
"A little light, that is all I am asking for" he mumbled.  
  
Galdriel's glass-bottle was laying safe in Sam's inner pocket, but he could not use it now, not here where it would be too visible. It was dark now, it was always dark, but now it was night, he could tell by the different shade of the sky. He could not stop until dawn if he could find a place to rest and eat some of the proviant Faramir had packed for them.  
  
The taste of the rabbit had left his mind, he could not remind himself of any taste anymore and he did not have much water left. He did not expect to find any water, at least not unpoisoned, in Mordor, he had to save what he still had in his bottle.  
  
About 4 hours later the dark lightened and Sam realized the sun would be halfway up in less than an hour. He walked the fastest he could with the heavy bag on his back and his tired legs.  
  
The next hour he finally found something that was somewhat still alive, a pair of bushes with leaves starting to fade. The yellow and brown color of the bushes was almost the most pleasent thing he had seen since he left Frodo. It seemed to be ages ago and he could not let it go. He was worried about orchs, what if they would find Frodo?  
  
Sam decided to take a rest and take a bite to eat before his next etap.  
  
After a very light lunch containing dried fruit, salty meat, lembas and a small sip from the water he was up on his legs with new energy.  
  
"Oh Mr. Frodo I would have needed you by my side now"   
  
The sun did not shine much even if it was the 7^th hour of the day, but it had not been shining for many days now. 


	2. Awakening.

Frodo was not dead.  
  
A few hours later he opened his eyes to find himself laying on the ground with a terrible pain in the neck. It took time for his eyes to adjust to the athmosphere around him, but when the sight was clear he sat up and tried to remember where he was. His body was shivering and the sun was just on its way up. The black hole in to Shelob's cave opened itself as a gate to death, but there was no sign of the giant spider except for the green liquid that he poured out from her wound. All of a sudden Frodo got up and looked around in fear. Where was Sam?  
  
"SAM!" he shouted. "SAM!"  
  
He realized that the shelob had probably taken his friend and he was now dead.  
  
Little did he know that Sam was on his way to Mt. Doom.  
  
Frodo was about to shout again, but like an earthquake the ground started shaking underneath him. He threw himself to the side of the road and laid as still as he possibly could.  
  
"Sam.." he whispered to himself and felt how his heart sunk in his chest. "Oh Sam, why are you so stubborn? Why did you not stay with the others on Amon Hen, you fool" he cried silently. "No Sam I am sorry, it was my fault, I left too late and now you are dead"  
  
The boisturous sound came closer and Frodo realized that it was not an earthquake, it was footsteps. A heavy group of orchs was his guess and he was right.  
  
Out of nowhere came an excursion of orchs dressed in black chainmails and helmets.  
  
Frodo backed as silent as he could and pulled the his cloak-hood over his head, but then the leader of the pack made sudden stop and put his nose in the air as if he could feel the smell of something unwanted. Frodo froze to ice, but luck was with him and they continued towards the gate in to Shelob's cave. When the last one of the orchs had entered the cave Frodo came out of his hiding place, but one of the orchs had straggeled behind and was now standing inches from him. His hand seeked its way to his neck where the ring had been, but Frodo noticed that it was gone. The orch's strong hands grabbed Frodo's neck and almost choked him. "What have we got here?" he said. "Too short for a man, but yet not a dwarf"  
  
Frodo was too afraid to speak and his words would not escape his lips anyway, he was choking from the tight grip and fell in to unconsiousness again.  
  
Sam turned around by a scratching sound behind him, but there was nothing.  
  
His heart was troubled and insecure, but he could not turn back now, not when he had passed the border over to Mordor. The ring was painful as if it was scarring his neck and made him bleed. The Eye was constantly following his every step and Sam expected to meet Orchs around every corner, but the coast was clear for miles.  
  
He followed his instincts and tried to remember as much of the map he had looked over in Rivendell, as he could. He had to walk north, he knew that much and he kept the same course for two full days with only two short breaks. By the time Sam's water bottle was empty his strength was gone too and another step would make his frail bones break. Around him were only piles of big rocks, but none of them were enough cover for him to get the rest he needed.  
  
He forced himself to walk for another while, but after a half hour he could not stand up and fell to the ground. His sleep was deep, but his dreams were not pleasent for he could see Hobbiton in flames and people were screaming for help. Rosa and her brothers ran down to the water, but where was Tom Cotton and his wife? Another vision came in his dream, it was his father, the Gaffer, but he was on the ground outside their house. Was he alive?  
  
He was not moving. Sam could hear himself calling for his father, but the lifeless body was still. Sam woke up with a start and his breath was heavy, his sweat dripping cold from his forehead. He looked around and for a split second he thought he saw something moving, but it disappeared before he could see what it was. But Sam did not need to see it for he knew it was the horrible creature Gollum who was following him. He had no time to find Gollum and had no idea for how long he had been asleep. He took a small piece of a lembas waffle, but realized he could not walk very far without water. There had to be water somewhere.  
  
He walked for an hour and the surroundings gradually changed, but there was no water to be found. Every now and then he stopped to listen for dripping sounds, but there were none.  
  
The plains were not as deserted now and there were small pits and hills, dead bushes and he was not far from a tall mountain. Another 20 minutes and he was by the mountain wall, but he could not see any water. His mouth was dry as tinder, but if his luck had changed he could possibly find a small spring somewhere near. He put his ear to the dry dusty ground and listened careful and to his surprise he could hear a light sound water. In his excitment his energy returned and he jumped over the rocks and dead plants until he stopped by a small crevice where a few drops of water ran down in to a bowl-shaped part of the mountain.  
  
Without thinking about where the water came from he drank until he was full, then filled his bottle. The water felt almost dry and with a strange taste of oil or something dusty, but he was so thirsty and could not afford to faint from dyhydration. It could not be far from the vulcanoes now and it was getting warmer. Sam hung his water-bottle on his belt and kept going in the direction he thought he would find Mt. Doom. It had to be in the west now, he had walked north for so long. 


	3. Toror'amir (My Brother)

When Frodo finally woke up again he was in a cold dark room by himself.  
  
There was not a sound and there were no windows. In fear and chock he crawled backwards in to a corner and pressed himself against the cold wet brickwall. Every breath he took created little clouds of warm air, but the freezing cold was not his biggest problem at this moment.  
  
Where was he? What would happen to him?  
  
As he closed his eyes he got a vision of the Eye, but it was not looking at him, it seemed rather confused, but it was looking for something, or someone.  
  
His eyes flew open as he heard a key in the door and his head went from side to side, trying to find a place to hide, but it was hopeless. What could he do? He was locked up in a small room and there was no chance for him to escape. The room was dark, but Frodo could see the silhuette of a tall man in the door opening. A weak light shone in from behind him and Frodo could finally see parts of the room. A table, a low stool beside it and on it was his elven cloak properly folded.  
  
"So our guest is awake now"  
  
Frodo covered his face with his arms as protection when the person took a step further in to the room, but whoever or whatever it was he shrunk to a man's size. This was not an orch.  
  
"Who are you?" Frodo managed to speak out his question hoarsely.  
  
"You do not recognize me, that sadens me my friend" said the man.  
  
There was something strangely familiar with that voice, but he could not place it with any man he had met. If he was a friend, what was Frodo doing in this stinking black hole?  
  
"I have heard that voice before"  
  
In the next second he could trace the voice to his fellowship member Boromir, but Faramir said he was dead. No it was not Boromir, this man was taller and his thin hair was longer.  
  
"Aragorn!" he burst out and the man took another step further. The light finally showed his face, but it was not Aragorn and not Boromir. This man was a stranger to Frodo, but at the same time he seemed awfully familiar to him.  
  
"I am Anarhin, son of Thranduil"  
  
"Thranduil? But that makes you..."  
  
"Yes I am Legolas brother and any friend of Legolas is a friend of mine"  
  
Frodo looked at the big masculine elf who reached out a hand to him.  
  
"But what am I doing here?"  
  
Anarhin's hand sank back to the side of his body.  
  
"You were hurt, I had no other place to lay you, it was your luck I was there Frodo Baggins"  
  
Anarhin once again offered Frodo his hand to help him up from the floor.  
  
This time Frodo accepted and was soon on his legs again. He brushed off dirt from his jacket and looked at Anarhin.  
  
"I was in Rivendell at the counsil, maybe you did not see me"  
  
Frodo thought back to the days he spent in Rivendell, but so much of those times had faded from his mind. He shook his head.  
  
"I am sorry, I do not remember much of that meeting"  
  
Anarhin smiled at Frodo and Frodo came to think of Legolas and how much Anarhin did ressamble him, but Anarhin's hair was much darker, almost the darkest of brown while his eyes were the same as his brother's.  
  
"That is not important now, what is important is that we get you out of hear and find your friend"  
  
"Sam?! Is he alive?"  
  
"I do not know Frodo, but we must follow him. You will sit with me on my horse"  
  
"Follow him? Where is he? Have you heard anything?"  
  
"He has the ring, but it is dangerous to travel alone over the plains of Mordor and if he is still alive he must be very close to Ba Orod"  
  
"He has my ring?" Frodo asked in surprise.  
  
How could Sam do such thing? It was suicide. 


	4. Gollum.

"Here you are Samwise Gamgee, what are you going to do now?" Sam asked himself and looked over the dead landscape. He could see the firey mountains, but did not know how to get there and was now lost and alone. Slowly he sat down on the dirty ground with his backpack in his arms. If they had known in Rivendell that Sam was this stupid they would probably not have let him go with Frodo, they would lock him up somewhere.  
  
The map over Mordor was a blur in his head and he wished he would have taken more time to study it. As he was sitting there on the ground he could hear a strong wind, but it was not like the winds he heard at stormy days. He looked up at the gloomy and dusty sky and saw a big bird sailing over the dark country. An enormous brown eagel-looking creature with wings stretching far out from its body. Sam remembered the spies and jumped up to hide, but he tripped over his bag and fell face down to the ground.  
  
He stayed in that position until the shadow from the gigantic bird was gone and looked up to make sure the coast was clear. He got up on his legs again and took a deep breath.  
  
"I can not do this alone, I will stumble over my own feet and fall down Mt. Doom myself"  
  
But just as that thought struck his mind his vision became clear as if someone had cast a spell at him to regain memory. Sam knew what road he had to take, picked up his bagage and started walking with his hand firmly on Sting in his belt.   
  
"When the cold of winter comes   
  
Starless nights will cover day  
  
In the vieling of the sun  
  
We will walk in bitter rain..."  
  
To calm his nerves he tried to sing every song Bilbo had ever taught him back in the Shire, but few of them could be sung in Mordor. Songs about heroes and elven kings, curage and happy endings or death of big people. Sam would not fit in any of the categorizes he figured, but if he stopped now and gave up they would make songs about the coward Gamgee. With his hand around the ring in the chain and the other on Sting he slowly led his feet to walk the lonely road he had to go to save Middle-Earth from Sauron's evil. Gradually the mountain behind him started to disappear, but so was soon Sam's energy. He swore to himself he would not stop until he had reached some sort of sign that he was getting closer, but just looking at the sky was sign enough. Ashes and smoke from the fires filled the air and all the wind was gone. It felt as if also the air was gone and he could not remember the fresh air outside Mordor.  
  
"Ssstupid Hobbit, Trying to get rid of usss, yesss my prrreciousss, sssstupid Hobbit"  
  
Sam spun around and saw Gollum standing behind him with his arms hanging down to the ground and the palms upwards, like most of the time. His big disgusting eyes were burning of anger, but Sam just pulled out Sting from his sheath and pointed it in Gollum's direction. "You did not like my rabbit soup, I wonder if you would like my sword"  
  
Sam threatned, but Gollum did not move from his spot which made Sam nervous.  
  
What was he planning on doing? Trying to fool him in to taking him along to Mount Doom and kill him there? Or attack him at nightfall.  
  
"Gollum wants our prrreciousss" he mumbled and finally went for attack against Sam.  
  
The sudden move surprised Sam and he fell backwards while Gollum jumped up on him and with his long gruesome fingers grabbed Sam's throat.  
  
Sam's mind was immediately turned to the Ring hanging from his chain, but it would mean death if he put it on in Mordor. The eye would discover him and kill him before he could throw the ring in to the fires.  
  
Sting had fallen to the ground above Sam's head, but with a strong move he reached it and was about to hit Gollum with it, but the ugly creature was afraid of the elven sword and backed.  
  
"Nice Hobbit, very nice Hobbit, not hurting Gollum, no no, leaving him to go" Gollum cried when Sam was on his legs again.  
  
Sam remembered Gandalf's words about Bilbo and why he did not kill Gollum when he had the chance, and then what he said about Gollum's part in their journey.  
  
He was right again.  
  
"Next time I see you I will chop that ugly head off your body"  
  
"Sméagol will be nice, he will go now, yesss my precciouss, Gollum is good, we will leave the Hobbit alone"   
  
Gollum backed away step by step, but Sam waited to turn around until he knew Gollum was not too close behind him. This was not the last of Gollum he would see. 


	5. In Mordor

Frodo got help to get up on the tall horse before Anarhin sat behind him and grabbed the end of the reins. The elf, brother of prince Legolas, quickly proved what a skillfull rider he indeed was and the horse ran like the wind away from the brickmade cottage where Frodo had awoken. He did not feel like asking questions about the house, but was curious to know what it was doing so close to the boarder to Mordor and why Frodo was locked up in this cold room. He waited with the questions until their break, but it never seemed to be one.  
  
As if the elf could read the little Hobbit's mind he asked: "Do you need rest?"  
  
"Yes please, and a little water if you do not mind"  
  
Anarhin gave the horse commands and it stopped by the same rocks Sam had been by when he had been eves dropping on the orchs. Frodo did not know this until he found something shiny on the ground, almost completely covered with dirt.  
  
He brushed it off and took a close look at it while Anarhin digged through his package to find his waterbottle. This elf was the best rider of all Mirkwood elves and the son of a king, but surely he was not organized.  
  
Frodo wanted to cry when he found Sam's memory of Bill, the horse they had bought in Bree after tricking the black knigts.  
  
The memory which was some sort of decoration for the saddle had been broken in two.  
  
When Frodo put the two pieces together he saw the image of a small leaf and the letters "S.G." carved in it. A single tear rolled over Frodo's cheek and fell on to the steel of which the button was made.  
  
Anarhin returned with a leather bag full of water and handed it to the sad Hobbit with a concerned expression in his face.  
  
"Is it your friend?" He asked as softly as he could.  
  
Frodo nodded and grabbed the bottle. "Yes, I am very worried about him Master Anarhin"  
  
Anarhin squatted down with a weak smile. "He is surely alive, but other things worry me about your friend Frodo. There is a creature following him and he is not far from Mt. Doom, maybe 2 or 4 days, it depends on the conditions with his energy"  
  
"He is alive then?" Frodo asked and a little bit of hope filled his heart. "Isn't he?"  
  
"Yes he is alive Frodo"  
  
"Who is following him?"  
  
"I do not know. It is an evil creature and he uses his nose as a dog would do"  
  
"Gollum!" Frodo burst out. "It is Gollum!"  
  
Anarhin stood up took a step back. "Is this Gollum a creature you know of?"  
  
"He guided me and Sam from Emyn Muil to the Shelob's cave where he decieved us"  
  
Anarhin just nodded and looked thoughtful. He turned his back to Frodo and looked North.  
  
"But Sam wounded him, he must be weak now"  
  
"Sméagol, or Gollum as he is also called, is not easily wounded" Anarhin spoke. "I should have known it was him. Many have he killed..." he said and turned back to Frodo . "... and many will he kill"  
  
"Please Mr. Anarhin, do not speak that way, not when Sam is so near this monster, I want to keep the little hope that remains"  
  
"Yes of course, forgive me Mr. Baggins"  
  
Frodo drunk some of the water in Anarhin's leather bag and dried off his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
"We must follow your friend, it is not safe to stop now, can you make it another few hours?" Anarhin asked the hobbit.  
  
Frodo nodded slowly. "As long as Sam is alive I will not rest"  
  
"Good, there will be little rest for master Gamgee is in danger I fear"  
  
These words made Frodo's energy return and without Anarhin's help he managed to get up on the horse. Anarhin laughed softly at the sight.  
  
"You are a brave Hobbit Master Baggins, I must say"  
  
"Sam is my best friend" Frodo replied. "I can not abandon him"  
  
Anarhin smiled and grabbed the reins and commanded in elvish:  
  
"Rima sii' Malsul, Asca ar' dina!"  
  
The horse practically flew by those words and before an hour had passed they were far from their resting place. Frodo could not deny it amazed him.  
  
"Where have you learnt to ride like this?" Frodo asked with curiousity.  
  
"Rohan my friend, the land of horses, but my rider is from the forest of Lothlorién"  
  
Frodo decided not ask any more questions, but he was beginning to feel tired and two or so hours later his eyelids were as heavy as lead.  
  
"I can not stay awake for very long now" he mumbled halfway in to slumber.  
  
He remembered Old Man Willow and how tired the woods made him, then how Merry and Pippin got stuck in its crack. This was almost the same feeling, he was covered by the feeling of worry and tiredness.  
  
While Anarhin tried to keep Frodo on the horse, but still ride Frodo was in a worried slumber.  
  
Frodo was standing by a hole in the ground and fires were flaming up from it.  
  
All of a sudden he heard a shout for help and recognized the voice immedietly.  
  
"Help mister Frodo!! Down here!"  
  
The voice came from the burning hole.  
  
Frodo got down on his knees and bent over the edge as much as he could without getting too close to the burning flames.  
  
Sam was not there and in the next second he could see a tall dark shadow against the mountain wall. He had no chance to flee before he was falling in to the fire...  
  
Frodo woke up with a jump and found himself laying on a cloak with his head on a bag and the sky was dark and starless. Anarhin was sitting calmly on the ground a few feet away from Frodo, caught up in a book.  
  
"Anarhin..." Frodo whispered and the elf turned his head. A smile spread on his face and he got up to sit by Frodo instead.  
  
"It was getting hard holding you on my horse" he said. "But I had not the heart to awake you"  
  
"If you only had" Frodo sighed and sat up.  
  
"Dreams are not always what they seem" Anarhin told him and put the book down on the ground.  
  
"How do you know they are not?"  
  
"In one way or another they always diffuse reality" Anarhin said, but then his face turned to a concerned expression. "The dream may seem worse... or better than reality"  
  
"Better?" Frodo burst out. "I do not think anything could be worse than what the dream showed me"  
  
Anarhin stood up. "Maybe so. I do not want to worry you my friend, but it is not even safe for an evil orch to live long in Mordor"  
  
"I do not want to think that Sam is dead Anarhin, it would not be fair, it would not be FAIR!" Frodo raised his voice, but then calmed down and hid his face in his dirty hands.  
  
"It would not be fair" he said again through his tears.  
  
"Not everything is fair in life Frodo and Sauron does not know what that means, neither do his orchs. They have no emotions, they only do what they are told by their leader"  
  
"Oh Sam..." Frodo sobbed to himself. 


	6. Beginning to Search.

Sam could not let his hand off Sting now after the horrible encounter with Gollum. It was just a matter of time before he would try to attack him again.  
  
Now he would have to walk until he fell to the ground of tiredness, for he was not in safety. If only I was not alone. He thought to himself and laid his hand on the pocket where he kept Galadriel's bottle of light.  
  
"In lonely shoes I walk...  
  
Without a friend along  
  
Unknown words I talk  
  
When I'm singing this song...  
  
Far from home I am  
  
On journey to the fire...  
  
This is me it's Sam.  
  
A hobbit from the Shire." *  
  
Sam stopped his song as he heard the sounds of a horse coming closer, and without a second thought he took cover behind two big blocks of stone.  
  
The horse passed him like the wind and Sam was soon up to see what it was.  
  
A tall man with long dark hair and pointy ears on a hazelbrown beautiful horse was riding towards mt. Doom, but he seemed to be alone. Was this an elf? In Mordor?  
  
With more insecurity he took a sip from the little water he had left and continued walking. His feet were soar from all the walking and he had lost a lot of weight since the day he left Hobbiton with Frodo. Sam had always loved food and as most hobbits he was a little chubby, but now he felt there were only skin and bones left of him even if he had a small amount of food in his bag. He felt it would come in handy later on, but it was not far from his goal and the ring seemed to weigh a ton around his neck.  
  
Mordor was cold, but Sam was sweating and pulled off his hobbit jacket to put it in his bag. As he moved Galadriel's bottle to a safer place he came to think of Frodo's chainmail Mitrhil. He should have brought it with him, but at the same time it felt like his dead master would need it. Sam shook his head as if to get the bad thoughts off his mind. He didn't have time to dig himself down now, what he had to do was to find Mount Doom and throw the Ring in to its fires. All though the attachment to the ring was stronger than he had ever felt before. Would he have the strength to destroy it?  
  
Frodo could see the volcanoe fires clearer than he had ever imagined he ever would before his death, and he wished he had never seen them. The thought of Sam being there alone and surrounded by the evil this country was filled with, it scared him to the edge of dispair. "I must get to Sam!" he shouted. "He's in danger, I can feel it!"  
  
"I am afraid I do not think he has gotten this far Frodo" Anarhin shouted back.  
  
Frodo froze. "You think we missed him?"  
  
"I do not know, I did not see him, but it is dark and he may have heard the hoove sounds"  
  
"Turn around!" Frodo demanded. "Turn around!!"  
  
Anarhin held his horse in and stopped it.  
  
"There is no turning back" he said slowly. "We will have to stay and wait for him by the mountain, if he manages to get this far"  
  
Frodo jumped off the horse before Anarhin could say another word.  
  
"I can not wait, I have to be with him!"  
  
Anarhin sighed at the hobbit's stubborness.  
  
"Then I will take you to him, but we have passed an orch camp and they are most likely on stronger guard now, I do not know if we can pass one more time"  
  
"I do not care" Frodo was determined to find Sam. He had to be there somewhere, he could feel it in his heart.  
  
* The song is written by me Alicia just so you know that and stuff :) 


	7. Black Arrow.

Sam dried off his sweaty forhead with the back of his hand as he dragged his big hobbit feet over the dusty black ground in Mordor. How long had he been walking?  
  
There was no water left in his bottle and no water to get, but Gollum could be right behind him and that was what he feared. When Gollum had been on top of him with his long fingers around Sam's neck, he had realized there was more strength in that monster than he could have imagined and underestimating Gollum could lead him to an imidiate death.  
  
Every second minute Sam stopped to listen for sounds around him, but the only sound that he could hear was his own nervous and heavy breathings.  
  
But now when Sam stopped again he was certain that he could hear something coming from a near distance and it was not the first time the sound had found him. Instead of hiding like he had done last time he waited to see if it was the same horse. He was in danger and took a big risk, he knew that, but if it was an elf, maybe he had some water to spare or an idea of how the road would look like closer to MT. Doom.  
  
But there, as the horse came closer, he could see something he thought was a mindtrick or a ghost. In front of a darkhaired pale elf was his best friend alive and relatively well looking.  
  
"SAM!!" Frodo shouted and Sam had to grab his heart and could not believe what he was seeing.  
  
"Frodo?" he said silently as the horse rode up to him, but the image of the hobbit was clear now, despite to the ashes and gloom. "Mr. Frodo! Frodo!!" Sam shouted back and Frodo jumped off the horse before it had a chance to stop.  
  
The two friends embraced in a long hug, but as they were holding each other, someone else had put certain plans in to action and Sam's smile faded.  
  
Frodo noticed his friend's sudden change in mood and feared what was going on behind his back. "Mr. Frodo..." Sam whispered and the hobbit turned around facing a black arrow.  
  
Anarhin's bow was drawn and in his face they could spot a feeling of revenge and malicious pleasure.  
  
"Anarhin..." Frodo said with disbelife. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Give me the ring" the elf said sternly. "Or I will shall see that you will both die a very unpleasurus death"  
  
Sam slowly moved his hand to the side of his belt where he kept sting, but his hands were shaking out of fear. At this moment he felt like the coward Gamgee whom he picture everyone at home singing about, but Frodo was standing still in front of Sam with the arrow touching his throat. Anarhin shot Sam an evil glare.  
  
"The ring!" he shouted. "Give me the ring!"  
  
"Now... I know why Legolas never spoke of his brother" Frodo uttered nervously.  
  
Anarhin laughed mischieviously and removed the arrow from the scared hobbit's throat, but still kept it drawn, ready to shoot him if he had to.  
  
"Legolas" he laughed. "Everybody's friend, my father's pride"  
  
Sam reached the handle of Sting and slowly pulled it out of its sheeath, but too uncarefully and Anarhin spotted him. With the magical speed that a hobbit posessed Sam managed to get Sting out and hit the flying arrow before it could harm him.  
  
Another arrow was picked out from the bag on Anarhin's back and he pointed it at Frodo, but Sam was in a hurry, there was no time to waste. A quick movement and the elven hand fell with a thump to the ground, still holding the bow.  
  
A screm ecchoed through Mordor and blood flowed around the rocks and closer to the hobbits' feet.  
  
"It is not over yet Samwise Gamgee!!" The harmed elf shouted and out of nowhere he pulled out a knife with the eye carved in its steel.  
  
"I wouldn't be too sure!" Sam retorted and swung Sting against Anarhin's stomach where it hit him. He fell down on his knees and then with his head first down on to the ground where he landed in his own blood.  
  
Sam ran up to Frodo and held him in his arms. "Are you all right Mr. Frodo?"  
  
Frodo laid a hand on his throat and nodded slowly. "I think so" 


	8. Damned Ring.

With the worst part yet ahead of them the two friends shouldered their package and continued to walk towards the mount of doom. Frodo knew the way very well over the deserted smelly land.  
  
"We should be there in about 10 hours, maybe more, maybe less" Frodo said and looked ahead of him where the firest stood high from the horizon and the air was filled with a thick black smoke.  
  
"I will be glad when this is over wether we are dead or alive" Sam answered. "But it sure would be nice to be alive"  
  
The hope was weak in the two hobbits so Frodo decided not to raise Sam's hopes of coming out of the adventure alive.  
  
The hours went by slowly and soon there was barely any energy left in them while the air became pitch black, blinding them completely.  
  
"I think our sight will be clearer further ahead" Frodo guessed. "Come on Sam, hurry up!"  
  
But in the next second Frodo fell down on his knees with his hands clasping his heart.  
  
Sam sat down beside his master and took him in his arms. "Lay down Mr. Frodo" he begged, but Frodo tried to get up. "No time to rest, we ne-" he slumped back on to the ground and Sam held him with his head in his lap. Once again Sam was faced with a difficult decision because Frodo was right, there was no time to rest and they had to move on. They were getting too close and he could feel the presence of all evil around him. If Gollum was still following them, he did not know, but the eye was watching them, the orchs and nazgÃ»ls were ready to attack at their most voulnerable moment.  
  
This would be that moment. He suddenly realized what he had to do and without hesitation he was up on his feet again with Frodo in his arms. He looked like he was sleeping, but his skin was pale as the elves' and his lips were purple and dry. He was lighter than he had ever been and even if he had always been slim for a hobbit, he was now much leaner and had not been eating much for days.  
  
Sam laid Frodo's arm around his neck and pushed him up over his shoulder. It was no burdon at all it seemed and it wasn't far now. Through the dust and still air he carried his master on his shoulder all the way to a bridge that would lead them over to the crack of doom.  
  
Here he put Frodo down, took out the bottle and poured the last drops of water over his face.  
  
Frodo's eyes opened and he sat up with surprise. "What's happening?"  
  
"We're here Frodo, we're here now"  
  
Frodo got up and looked over the unsteady bridge that would lead him to his goal.  
  
"This is too easy" he muttered. "We haven't seen one orch or nazgÃ»l... it's not right"  
  
"Easy? You do not know what will happen before this is over Mr. Frodo" Sam said.  
  
Frodo looked at his gardner and best friend. "Stay here Sam, I must go alone"  
  
Sam would not let him go alone, but felt there was no deal with arguing about it.  
  
"Yes Mr. Frodo" he lied.  
  
Frodo went up to the bridge and looked down in to the crack. It was dark and bottomless, if he fell in here he would never return to the Shire. A flash from Gandalf's fall returned to him and a tear escaped his eye as he put the first foot on the wooden bridge.  
  
Soon he was halfway over the bridge and looked straight forward to avoid fear, but fear was unavoidable in this country and there was nothing else but fear.  
  
It went so fast, the wood under his feet broke and he fell through the hole, but miraculously he managed to grab hold of the edges, but he was weak.  
  
Sam heard Frodo scream and without thinking he ran franatically over the bridge to the hole.  
  
Frodo was grabbing the wood tightly, his knuckles turning white and his face was full of fear, sadness and without a sign of hope.  
  
Sam grabbed Frodo's arms hard and pulled, but Sam wasn't strong enough.  
  
He managed to get him a bit further up from the hole and told him to grab on to his legs while Sam pulled the elven rope from his bag. He took a big risk when he bent over the hole and quickly tied the rope around his master's waist.  
  
Adrenaline was rushing through him and with the help of arms and feet he pused and pulled until Frodo was up, but not safe.  
  
"You saved my life again Sam" Frodo cried and wrapped his arms around Sam.  
  
Sam held Frodo in his arms, but didn't say a word.  
  
You know I would die for you master Frodo. He thought to himself, but his thoughts were interrupted by a hissing. Gollum.  
  
"Frodo! Hurry over the bridge, I will take care of this!"  
  
"Sam!!" Frodo yelled, but Sam pushed him away and pulled Sting out of its sheath.  
  
Frodo could do nothing else but to follow Sam's advice and quickly he was on fast ground near the roaring fires. The heat was burning his fair skin and the sweat rolled like drops over his dirty face.  
  
Gollum easily jumped over the hole in the bridge and landed just in front of Sam who quickly pointed the sword at him, but Gollum had lost the fear for its power it seemed. The only fear he now had was that he would lose the ring, his precious.  
  
"Ahh stupid hobbit! Curse you Gamgee!" He hissed and jumped to attack Sam, but he was quick and Sting hit him hard. Gollum fell to the floor on the bridge and Sam thought he was dead, but he got up and ran fast as a squirrel over the bridge to catch Frodo.  
  
Sam wasn't slow either and soon caught up with him.  
  
"Leave him alone!" he yelled and with a fast swing Gollums head was chopped off from his neck and rolled over the edge down in to the firest of Mount Doom.  
  
"Frodo! Throw the ring now!"  
  
Frodo hurried toward the fire, but suddenly stopped and backed off. He couldn't throw the ring down there. "No I can't, It would be stupid, It's my ring, I should keep it!" He yelled to no one in particular.  
  
"No Frodo, you must cast it in tot he fire!"  
  
"No!" Frodo answered and walked away from the fire, but Sam knew what he had to do.  
  
He grabbed Frodo's wrist, but with violence Frodo fought him off, but Sam could not give up now when the fate of the ring all of a sudden depended on him.  
  
Quickly he threw himself over Frodo who couldn't move under Sam's weight.  
  
"get off me!! Leave me alone!! It's my ring you thief!" Frodo kept cursing Sam and the words hit him to tears, but he could not let it stop him. Having Frodo locked under him he ripped the chain off his neck and cast it towards the crack, but it landed on the edge.  
  
Frodo's next move surprised Sam and couldn't stop Frodo who hurried to get the ring, but Sam was after him and kicked the ring over the edge where it disappeared.  
  
"THE RING!!" Frodo cried out and Sam had to hold him to prevent him from jumping in with it.  
  
Minutes later the whole situation changed. A loud cry and scream echoed through Mordor from the black tower and a rumbling sound.  
  
Frodo fell down on the ground breathing heavily and clutching his chest with his hand.  
  
Sam too felt how his strength subsided and fell down beside Frodo where he thought they would die together now when the ring was destroyed.  
  
This was by the time Gandalf flew off with Gwaihir and the other eagles over the now destructing land of Darkness. Never, he hoped, would the land be rebuilt and bother Middle-Earth again.  
  
There they are!!  
  
"Down there!" Gandalf shouted to Gwaihir who flew down to Mt. Doom and landed on a big rock not far from where Sam and Frodo were laying lifeless.  
  
With some help from the eagels he managed to get them up on Landroval's back who quickly flew off to get them out of Mordor.  
  
Gandalf hopped up on Gawihir again who with a loud cry of victory lifted off and followed his brother.  
  
A few chapters left.....  
  
Please review! 


	9. Awakening.

Frodo slowly opened his eyelids shielding his eyes with his hand, from the bright sunshine that met his gaze. Waking up a bit more he started to feel a great pain in his legs and felt how his right arm was nearly lame. Everything around him was new and unfamiliar, but yet it felt like he had been there for a long time. Blurry memories of what had happened came back to him and now he realised he was laying in a real bed with clean sheets and a soft pillow. His head was spinning and still his sight had not fully recovered from the dust and dark of Mordor, but what he could see was that he was all alone. 

His heart sank in his chest when thoughts of Sam filled his mind. Where was his best friend and loyal servant? 

He wished so dearly that he was not dead, but it felt like there was little hope of survival within him. Frodo had almost been caught by the evil of the ring, but Sam noticed and with his last strength he had managed to destroy the ring.

Frodo put his hand under his shirt, but felt no ring and no chain, they were all gone and the burden that he had carried was lifted off from him. He could see and feel the moment when he saw Sam's foot kicking the jewellery off the edge and to Frodo's temporary dismay it fell and disappeared in to the roaring fires burning his skin. 

Now he felt anger and remorse over his inexcusable behaviour! Had he not been warned and had he not so many times wished the ring had fallen in to the hands of someone else, someone who was stronger and bigger than himself. 

With difficulty he managed to sit up in bed but he knew he would not be able to use his legs yet, they were to soar and weak. "Oh Sam" he cried silently. "What have I done to you dear friend? You did not deserve this, and now you are most likely dead" 

A warm, almost burning tear, rolled like a raindrop over Frodo's pale cheek. How many hours, days or weeks had he been laying here? In one second he started to wonder if it was all a dream, but within his heart he knew that it was all real and never would his life be the same again. While he sat and cursed himself for his stupidity, the door on the far end was slowly opened. Frodo feared for whom would come and still he had little hope that he would ever see any of his friends again. Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli... Bilbo. Through the door came a fresh breeze of air and stilled his mind before getting the chock of his life. In the doorway he saw an old man with long grey beard, bushy eyebrows and a pointy hat. Now he was certain that he had gone insane, but he could just not let go of the feeling that it was so real. 

"You are awake I see" The old man said. 

"Are you? No it can't be… you're dead... am I so sick I can not control what I see?"

There was no answer. The man walked over to Frodo's bed and sat down on a chair. 

"I can not tell you what you see and how you see it, but I can tell you that I am glad to see you the way I see you"

Frodo threw his arms around him and it felt like all his pain was gone. "Gandalf!" He cried out. "You're alive!"

Gandalf laughed. "Yes I am, Yes I am dear boy" 

"This is too much for my poor hobbit-heart" Frodo said with a smile. "It has switched so fast from nightmare to joy"

Gandalf patted Frodo's shoulder. "Indeed and I suppose you want to know where the others are?"

Frodo's smile faded. "I can only guess what has happened to Sam" he said with deep sadness. "But I don't know abo-"

"With Sam?" Gandalf interrupted. 

"Dead, isn't he?" He said with sudden insecurity. 

Gandalf didn't change expression and Frodo, who wanted to believe that Sam was still alive, misinterpreted the wizard's face. 

"It's my fault..." Frodo begun, but Gandalf looked thoughtfully at the boy's tear-wet face. 

"There is no fault Frodo my boy, Sam is still alive, but I will not deceive you, his condition is unstable and he is still not awake. All though seeing you does bring me hope to have him back soon"

Frodo had to clutch his chest. "Can I see him?" 

Gandalf smiled. "Of course you can, but not today I'm afraid, you still need to rest"

Frodo did not feel like resting. He felt his stomach growling loudly. 

"And I would love to have a bite to eat" he smiled. 

Gandalf nodded. "Of course, how forgetful of me, I will send Merry with a tray"

Frodo lit up. "Is Merry here?"

Gandalf got up from the chair. "They are all here Frodo, the fellowship is not lost..." then he added: "Except for.. Boromir"

Frodo nodded. "I know..."

Gandalf smiled at the pale, but happy hobbit one last time before he left the room.

"Oh Sam, I am so glad you are alive, but will you ever fully mend? Will you survive? I know you are strong… but you have been wasting so much strength on me, how much is left? Will I ever see my lovely gardener again, or someone else? Another Sam…?" 


End file.
